A typical connector assembly includes male and female connectors that are secured to one another in a snap-fit relationship to make an electrical connection, for example. Some connector assemblies also use a positional assurance element to provide feedback that the connectors are fully engaged with one another. This is particularly useful in applications where it is difficult to make the connection due to limited or awkward access and visual confirmation is problematic.
One type of positional assurance element is provided by a structure that is slidably supported on one of the male and female connectors. The positional assurance element includes a tongue arranged between laterally spaced apart legs of a pump handle that also includes a hook which joins the legs. As the connectors are pushed fully into engagement with one another, the hook snaps onto a ramp of the adjacent connector. The tongue also slides upward along the shroud, which releases a tongue lock from its supporting connector. Otherwise, the lock will prevent the positional assurance element from being moved. But, once the connectors are snap-fit to one another and fully engaged in an intermediated assembled condition, the positional assurance element can be slid from a retracted position to an extended position.
If the connectors are not fully engaged with one another, the operator will not be able to move the positional assurance element to the extended position, which indicates that the connectors are not fully engaged. Occasionally, the operator may also believe the connectors are not fully engaged—even when the connectors are, in fact, fully engaged—due to a failure of the positional assurance element, which prevents its movement to the extended position.
The connectors have some clearance between one another so the connectors do not have to be precisely aligned, which better enables blind assembly or assembly in tight spaces. This clearance permits the connectors to be laterally misaligned before being pushed together during assembly. Current positional assurance elements and pump handles are designed such that an upper surface of the tongue is arranged below a lower surface of the legs. If the connectors are not closely aligned with one another during connector assembly, the tongue may be pushed laterally underneath the pump handle and plastically deformed or broken, which may prevent the positional assurance element from being slid to the extended position during final assembly of the connector.
What is needed is a more robust connector assembly with positional assurance.